To our readers and Daily staff,
In light of recent actions taken by the federal government to arrest undocumented immigrants, drumming up fear across the nation, the Daily’s Ethics & Inclusion Committee is issuing an open letter to Tufts and the local communities of Medford and Somerville to reaffirm and clarify our journalistic ethics and practices as it relates to documentation status.
As the Ethics & Inclusion Committee, our aim is to “identify and address shortcomings in the Daily’s operations, coverage and staff makeup relating to diversity, inclusion and journalism ethics.” We do this through ethics trainings for the Daily staff and leadership, and by providing resources for our organization to refer back to. We will continue to implement these trainings throughout this year and beyond.
Keeping these goals in mind, we would like to be transparent about our reporting process with members of our campus and local communities who are international students, students with undocumented status and students with family members that have undocumented status. As an independent, student-run publication, we possess a unique and important responsibility to listen to and elevate voices in our community. The most important of these responsibilities is to protect the safety and privacy of those voices.
As reporters, we serve the community. To that end, our first obligation is to do no harm throughout our reporting process. We instruct reporters to be transparent with their sources. This means telling sources who we are, what we’re reporting on and why.
Reporters for the Daily will not ask for an individual’s documentation status in an interview, even if the source is involved in an advocacy group. Reporters will ask permission to record interviews in accordance with Massachusetts law when sources are comfortable being interviewed on or off the record. Anonymity will be granted if there is a legitimate risk of a source’s safety, meaning that their name, age, place of residency and occupation will remain off the record.
Our relationship with our readers is rooted in mutual trust, and that is why we use anonymity sparingly on a case-by-case basis. We hope that our readers understand that we do not take their trust for granted, and that when we grant sources anonymity, we do so to ensure that no one experiences harm for speaking on the record.
As a community, we would like to stress the importance of sharing knowledge and resources with our members.
Colleges are prohibited from releasing students’ records to law enforcement officers according to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act without consent. Additionally, noncitizens have rights under the United States Constitution. Under the Fifth Amendment, noncitizens have the right to remain silent and not answer questions asked by law enforcement. Under the Fourth Amendment, the government is restricted in its ability to enter your home and workplace or search your car.
Tufts University has not issued any policy changes or official statements surrounding the topic of compliance. You can reach out to the Dean of Students Office with any questions surrounding university policy and law.
More information on resources for undocumented students and families is available at the FIRST Center and Career Center websites.
There are also various resources within the Medford and Somerville areas, including an information guide accessible through the Somerville Public Library. In regards to the state of Massachusetts, there are various groups that share many resources on safety, asylum and refugee coalition advocacy via Mass Legal Help and Mass.gov.
We will update this letter if any relevant changes occur. If you have any questions or concerns about our journalistic practices or about which resources are available to you, we encourage you to reach out to us at daily@tuftsdaily.com or eandi@tuftsdaily.com.
Sincerely,
The Ethics & Inclusion Committee
